Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club (OFNC) – Weekly Birding Report Sightings within a 50km radius of Parliament Hill - including eastern Ontario and western Quebec *Compiled by Al Caughey at sightings@ofnc.ca <sightings@ofnc.ca>* Update for the week ending on 2026.08.13 (season 1; episode 28) *This past week there were 14 notables in the 50km Circle (down slightly from 16 last week) and the total number of species rose from 169 to 176.* *I was wrong (yet again) when I predicted last week that Tuesday & Wednesday mornings would be the best bet to find new arrivals... on Monday evening, Tony Tran found a Hudsonian Whimbrel at Andrew Haydon Park but unfortunately, it only hung around for a few hours. On Tuesday evening, Rodolphe Dubois spotted a Franklin's Gull at Baie Simard in Gatineau and it has since been seen at a couple of locations on the Ottawa side. Today (Thursday), Tony Tran continued his good week and found a pair of Baird Sandpipers on the mud flats at Andrew Haydon Park. There were 5 additional arrivals (or re-appearances) this week - including : - Northern Shoveler [Lanark (Aug 12)], African Collared-Dove [Gatineau (Aug 08)], Stilt Sandpiper [Prescott and Russell (Aug 10)], Clay-colored Sparrow [Ottawa (Aug 08)], and Golden-winged Warbler [Ottawa (Aug 13)]* *Three notable species from last update are now being seen as non-notable: - Black-bellied Plover → last notable report on Aug 02 in Ottawa; with a single recent non-notable report in Ottawa on Aug 12 - Ruddy Turnstone → last notable report on Aug 01 in Gatineau with 2 non-notable reports in Prescott and Russell (as recently as Aug 8) and one in Ottawa on Aug 3 - Tennessee Warbler → last notable report on Jul 31 in Ottawa with at least 24 recent non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [20], Gatineau [2], Renfrew [1], Lanark [1]* *Four species have not been reported since the last update:- Redhead (last seen in Ottawa on Aug 01), Short-billed Dowitcher (last seen in Prescott and Russell on Aug 03), American Woodcock (last seen in Ottawa on Aug 04), Pectoral Sandpiper (last seen in Ottawa on Aug 03)* *Other than Sunday - when the winds should shift to the east - most of the coming week should provide good tailwinds for southbound migrants - especially early warblers, flycatchers, and shorebirds. It might be a good time to listen for nocturnal flocks. Monday morning (Aug 17) could be a good day to look for mixed flocks of warblers along forest edges - perhaps the Champlain Lookout, King Mountain, and Luskville Falls base. North-northwest winds on Aug 14-15 and Aug 17 will likely push migrating flocks of waterfowl, gulls, terns, and shorebirds down the Ottawa river corridor. If it rains on Sunday night, these flocks could drop into sheltered river bays and sandbars at Shirley’s Bay, Mud Lake, Andrew Haydon Park, and elsewhere. With all of the recent rain, many shorebirds will * *instead* *seek out temporary surface pools in open fields, quarry edges, storm ponds and/or settling basins at sewage lagoons. * * All of this means we should be looking everywhere for migrants this week!* Current Notable Birds: *Greater White-fronted Goose*: continues with 56 (and counting) reports at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (Aug 6-13) *Trumpeter Swan*: continues with a single report of 1 at étang du stationnement P8 [Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais] on Aug 12; plus a single non-notable report in Lanark *Hudsonian Whimbrel*🆕: 4 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (3 times on Aug 10); 1 at Andrew Haydon Park east (formerly Ottawa Beach) [Ottawa] (on Aug 10) *Baird's Sandpiper*🆕: at least 15 reports of as many as 2 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] on Aug 13 *Franklin's Gull*🆕: 8 reports at 5 locations - 1 at Andrew Haydon Park [Ottawa] (on Aug 13); 1 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (3 times on Aug 12); 1 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (on Aug 12); 1 at Rapides Deschênes (incluant parc) [Gatineau] (twice on Aug 12); and 1 at Baie Simard [Gatineau] (on Aug 11) *Lesser Black-backed Gull*: 5 reports at 3 locations - as many as 5 at Filtration Plant/Point [Ottawa] (twice on Aug 12); 4 at Brophy Drive [Ottawa] (on Aug 11); as many as 14 at Mud Lake [Ottawa] (on Aug 7); plus at least 5 non-notable reports at locations in Gatineau [3] *Least Bittern*: 4 reports at 4 locations - 1 at Moodie Drive Quarry [Ottawa] (on Aug 11); 1 at Bruce Pit [Ottawa] (on Aug 11); 1 at Almonte Lagoons [Lanark] (on Aug 8); 1 at Carp River Watershed Reclamation Area [Ottawa] (on Aug 7); plus at least 6 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [1], Gatineau [2], Papineau [3] *Black-crowned Night Heron*: a single report of 1 at Hwy 7 Storm Pond [Lanark] on Aug 12; plus at least 26 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [19], Gatineau [6], Prescott and Russell [1] *Red-headed Woodpecker*: continuing with at least 18 reports of as many as 3 along Whistler Rd, Bayview Dr and Doris Currie Rd in Constance Bay [Ottawa] (between Aug 7-13) *Red-bellied Woodpecker*: a single report of 1 at Parc Queen [Gatineau] on Aug 11 *Olive-sided Flycatcher*: 12 reports of 1 at Rockcliffe Airport Woods/Old Military Base, Ottawa ON [Ottawa] between Aug 6-7; plus at least 7 non-notable reports at locations in Ottawa [5], Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais [2] *Yellow-bellied Flycatcher*: 6 reports at 5 locations - 1 at Pioneer Plains Park [Ottawa] (twice between Aug 9-13); 1 at Rockcliffe Parkway at Green's Creek, Ottawa (2012-2013) [Ottawa] (on Aug 11); 1 at Richmond CA (formerly Richmond Sewage Lagoons) [Ottawa] (on Aug 9); 1 at Innis Point Bird Observatory [Ottawa] (on Aug 8); 1 at Innis Point Maps Plot [Ottawa] (on Aug 8); plus a single non-notable report in Gatineau *Philadelphia Vireo*: 10 reports at 4 locations - as many as 2 at Pioneer Plains Park [Ottawa] (twice between Aug 10-13); as many as 2 at Rockcliffe Airport Woods [Ottawa] (6 times between Aug 7-12); 1 at Stanley Park [Ottawa] (on Aug 7) *Northern Mockingbird*: 3 reports at 2 locations - 1 at Roger Stevens Dr [Lanark] (on Aug 10); 1 at Marais Perras Nord (Accès Privé) [Papineau] (twice between Aug 6-7) As always, send questions, comments or photos to sightings@ofnc.ca. Your feedback is appreciated. Good birding, Al